How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

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SEANR999
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How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by SEANR999 »

First post newbie, apologies for an old subject, but I'm right in the middle of a Renthal Fat bar Conversion and after a few tips on cutting the fairing.! I've attached a few pics, which hopefully may help some one else in the future. Hopefully some good comments will make this a useful thread for other VTR owners. The Story so far: I managed to get hold of a very good condition second hand full fairing kit (with Headlight assembly) for my 2000 VTR 1000F . Local guy was building a streetfighter, so I was in luck ! I didn't want to cut my original fairing as its immaculate, so that's put to 1 side. I bought the "Top Yokes" kit from CNC Top yokes in Lancaster, UK.
(https://www.topyokes.uk/) with 2 brake lines and clutch line, with ceracote matt silver finish which matches the bike frame brilliantly.
After asking Top Yokes which handlebars to get, there was a choice to be made. Flat bars = no need to cut fairing, raised bars, essential to cut fairing.! I wanted better comfort so went raised bars & managed to get new old stock on Ebay of Renthal Fat Bars 828-50-SI (the SI = Silver Matt finish) which look great and match the ceracote top yoke and frame colour/finish.
Having a miniscule garage, I employed a local professional bike mechanic (Mike Hose, Wallasey) to carry out the conversion and he did a great job. NOTE of Caution. Mike did a fantastic job and noted the following. The Top Yoke brake lines supplied, were both ~5cm too long for the 828 bars, so had to be cut and re-banjo'd. I needed new throttle cables fitting, as originals now too short. He brought the forks ~6mm through the top yoke to balance the handling dynamics. I rode it home with no fairing and its fantastic, like a new bike. (I've had this Firestorm for 11 years). Now the final bit. I need to cut the fairing like the other guys have shown on here and other VTR Forums. I have questions ! I've invested in a Dremel 4250 and a pack of Dremel SC 476 cutting discs, which are Dremel's recommendation for cutting plastic, including ABS fairings. I believe you should use these discs at a lower speed (10k rpm) , so as not to burn the plastic. My questions are: how did you decide on correct line for the cut ? How did you mark it up to cut? How did you finish the edge? (e.g. Dremel polisher ?) The fairing is not self coloured, so did you paint the edge with Honda Red rattle-can ? I will be removing the fairing to make the cuts. Any information greatly appreciated, cheers Sean
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sirch345
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by sirch345 »

Welcome aboard Sean :thumbup:

I've not cut the ears off my Storm when I did the Renthal Flat handlebar conversion, but I believe some follow the existing "arc" that is there on the fairing in front of the so called ears. Different set-ups may vary the amount you need to remove, but that could be a good starting point by continuing on with the arc.
Once you have cut one side off you can use that 0ff-cut as a template for the other side.

If my memory serves me well I think Lloydie recommended using two cutting disc's together in your Dremel,

Chris.
SEANR999
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by SEANR999 »

Thanks Chris & understood. I've collected lots of pics of VTR owners bikes and following the arc appears to be the trusted principle. Its the mechanics of the cut I'm most interested in and 2 discs together is interesting, so will try & find out if I can see any more details on the net.
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sirch345
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by sirch345 »

SEANR999 wrote: Wed Apr 19, 2023 10:26 pm Thanks Chris & understood. I've collected lots of pics of VTR owners bikes and following the arc appears to be the trusted principle. Its the mechanics of the cut I'm most interested in and 2 discs together is interesting, so will try & find out if I can see any more details on the net.
My memory was right :lol:
I found the quote by Lloydie:
Tip from Lloydie is to use 2 of the small thin dremmel cutting discs screwed together for strength, they are a lot less abrasive than the bigger grinding disc and dont overheat the plastic and clog up.

Quote taken from this link: viewtopic.php?p=240473#p240473

If you cover the whole area where you are going to be cutting the fairing with masking tape, not only will that protect the fairing a little, you will then be able to see your cutting line clearer than if you just marked the red fairing panel with your marker pen.

Good luck with it, I hope it all goes well,

Chris.
SEANR999
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by SEANR999 »

Many thanks Chris, that's great. Collected a few more pics and bought a bendy ruler today and will mark up with fine indelible felt tip, then mask it up for the cut. Will post some pics hopefully next week of the result ! cheers Sean
SEANR999
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by SEANR999 »

Finally did it. Top tips, get a bendy ruler, mark with indelible marker the desired cut line, mask non cut area off with 2 layers quality masking tape, use Dremel plastic cutting discs, set rpm 12,000 to stop plastic melting. I suspended fairing in filing cabinet, bungee holding it tight and foam blocks behind. Practice cuts on the waste ear lobe below your cut and get the hang of the Dremel. Cricket bat grip i.e. 2 hands. Take your time and score the whole line before going deeper. Was pleased with the results, the cut for each fairing took approx. 5 minutes. See pics. Had to move switchgear in 3-4mm each side. Its tight and surprisingly the mirrors come into play and get very close to your hands on full lock with my chosen Renthal bars. So maybe after market mirrors an option. Bottom line, fantastic, turns the Storm into a different riding experience. 100% recommended.
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tony.mon
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by tony.mon »

Like the filing cabinet idea, doing it at work in your lunch break?
It's not falling off, it's an upgrade opportunity.
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sirch345
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by sirch345 »

It's looking really good, well done :clap: :clap:

I like your idea of using the filing cabinet to hold the side fairing panel upright :thumbup: :thumbup:

Thanks for posting up the nice quality photo's 8)

Chris.
SEANR999
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by SEANR999 »

Thanks Tony, Chris, this is my garage, I've got 6 filing cabinets and 4 Bisley multi draws to keep all my "crap" in order ! Cant figure out if its OCD or a tidy nature ! I personally found Its easier to cut like this than lying flat i.e. I could control the Dremel better not leaning over the fairing. Cheers Sean
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Donut 77
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by Donut 77 »

Top job! I’m looking at copying this in the near future.

I do everything in my “lunch break”

Sometimes lasts all week 😆
Good job I’m not in a rush…
No longer in the B154-M club.
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sirch345
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by sirch345 »

SEANR999 wrote: Sun Apr 23, 2023 9:10 pm Thanks Tony, Chris, this is my garage, I've got 6 filing cabinets and 4 Bisley multi draws to keep all my "crap" in order ! Cant figure out if its OCD or a tidy nature ! I personally found Its easier to cut like this than lying flat i.e. I could control the Dremel better not leaning over the fairing. Cheers Sean
That all sounds good to me regardless of the reason, at least you have plenty of storage :clap: :clap:

I have now made this "How To" a "Sticky" so it doesn't get lost amongst all the other topics, as this is really helpful for anyone else doing this mod to their Firestorm/Superhawk with the write-up information and the photo's.

Many thanks for taking the time to put this together Sean :clap: :clap:

Chris.
SEANR999
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Re: How to cut the ears off my VTR fairing ? April 2023

Post by SEANR999 »

My pleasure Chris, this forum has been a great resource for me, so any opportunity to give something back and make someone else's job a little easier is more than worthwhile. Appendage.! I loaded the photos back to front i.e. the end result first !. Also the practice cut lines on the ear lobe show a raised blob of melted plastic in the lower end of the picture. This is what happened when I cut at 15,000 rpm with the Dremel plastic disk (single disc, not doubled up as per a previous owners suggestion). The plastic melted really quick and bubbled immediately, so recommend anyone doing this, err on side of caution and do a few practice cuts. All the best Sean
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